Staff writer
A parent’s school supply shopping list is usually not cheap.
Marion-Florence estimates the cost of a kindergartener’s supplies at $45 and a fifth-grader’s supplies at $50.
Peabody-Burns estimates the cost of a kindergarten student’s supplies at $27 and the cost of a fifth-grader’s supplies at $35 to $40.
For a student entering kindergarten, the shopping list can be as short as five items for a Goessel student or as long as 17 items for a Centre student.
Goessel kindergartners need crayons, glue, tissues, a bag, and markers.
Centre kindergartners, on the other hand, need a school bag, supply box, pencils, pink erasers, scissors, glue, crayons, watercolors, dry erase markers, tissues, two sizes of zipper bags, a two-pocket folder, sanitizing wipes, gym shoes, a rest mat, and earbuds or headphones.
Only two districts require a school box. Centre is the only district to require two-pocket folders, watercolors and sanitizing wipes. Peabody-Burns is the only district to require a composition book for kindergarteners. Marion-Florence is the only district to require disposable plastic cups.
By fifth grade, the list of supplies is longer, with the number of items ranging from 10 at Peabody-Burns to 19 at Hillsboro.
All districts require glue sticks and tissues. Beyond that, the shopping lists are diverse.
All but Peabody-Burns require pencils, and Marion-Florence and Centre require folders. Dry-erase markers are needed at Marion-Florence, Goessel, Centre, and Hillsboro, and erasers are needed at Marion-Florence, Goessel, Centre, and Hillsboro.
Crayons are needed at Marion-Florence and Hillsboro. Marion-Florence, Centre, Hillsboro, and Peabody-Burns call for colored pencils. Marion-Florence and Goessel list highlighters, black Sharpies, binders, and pencil sharpeners.
Some districts require composition books; others require spiral notebooks. Only Marion-Florence students need a pencil box. Goessel is the only district to require a calculator. Hillsboro and Peabody-Burns students need sanitizing wipes. At Goessel and Centre, students need ballpoint pens.
School supply lists are set each year by district officials and distributed to parents of children in each district.